South Coast Prime Times - May/June 2021

M ay/June 2021 · Volume 17 · Number 3

Wonderful walks

Vaccination faqs

Here’s to health Making the transition to assisted living easy

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CONTENTS MAY/JUNE 2021 Prime Living

8

Vaccination FAQ

By Elizabeth Morse Read

18 Transformative television

By Stacie Charbonneau Hess

Prime Season

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Wonderful walks

By Kennedy Ryan Our of the rough

By Michael J. DeCicco

Good Times

10

It’s a seller’s market

By Elizabeth Schultz

16 Art springs forward

By Ron Fortier

20

Lessons from Miss Millie

By Paul Kandarian

M ay/June 2021 · VoluMe 17 · nuMber 3

Wonderful Walks

Trust your local expert!

Vaccination

faqs

OPEN FOR TAKEOUT

Elizabeth Schultz

(508) 269-6641 Broker/Real Estate Consultant

Buy or Sell with me in RI & MA

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Here’s to HealtH Making the transition to assisted living easy

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PRIME SEASON

The newly opened Dike Creek Reserve in Dartmouth

Wonderful walks

While the best way to enjoy winter in the South Coast is bundled up in a blanket at home, it’s still important to get outside when you can. There are many health benefits to walking outdoors, ranging from increased Kennedy Ryan levels of vitamin D to stronger bones. Outdoor walks are also just a great way to take in the beauty of your community!

The South Coast is home to many bike paths, nature trails, and long-distance hikes. Walkers can take their pick from waterfront views to woodsy finds. There are a variety of favorites with varying levels of difficulty.

The Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, or DNRT, has over 40 miles of trails available among their 19 reserves. There are plenty of trails to choose from with varying lengths and difficulties. While the Parsons Reserve, known for their spring daffodils, will be closed this year to avoid crowds, the other reserves will be open throughout the spring.

“We’re so glad that we get to provide a getaway from the stress of everyday life,”

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says Kendra Murray, the Development and Outreach Specialist at the DNRT. Murray recommends checking out the Dike Creek Reserve this upcoming season.

With over 77 acres of vineyard fields, woodlands, and marsh, there is plenty to explore on this exciting new reserve.

Check out dnrt.org for more information on these destinations.

The New Bedford Harbor Walk is the perfect path for those looking for a smooth, easy walk. This 2.6 mile walk is city-owned in the South End of New Bedford. The walk is located along the top of the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier, offering expansive views of the harbor. In the distance, visitors can catch a glimpse

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of Fort Taber and Fort Phoenix along their journey. This smooth, paved path features minimal inclines along the way, making it a great spot for walkers and joggers.

The Bicentennial Boardwalk at Battleship Cove in Fall River is the perfect spot for history lovers. The path offers sweeping viewers of the Taunton River along with the Braga Bridge. Visitors can walk along the 2.2 mile hike before traveling aboard the Battleship Cove ship. This ship is a maritime museum that contains

Dike Creek Reserve With over 77 acres of vineyard fields, woodlands, and marsh, there is plenty to explore on this exciting new reserve

Visiting local paths is a great way to get outside safely while taking in the beautiful surrounding features of the South Coast memorials, interactive exhibits, and many historical replicas. Those looking to visit Battleship Cove can do so with the price of admission and covid safety restrictions. Visitors just looking to walk along the boardwalk can also take in the magnificent view of the ship from afar.

The Cape Cod Canal Bikeway is the most-known path on this list. This is a popular summer destination, as the path is located right along the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay. This path is perfect for any level of difficulty. The paved path is approximately seven miles in length, one way. Those looking for a 14-mile walk can walk the entire distance and back for a long walk with a breathtaking view.

Visitors looking to simply take in the views can shorten their journey to their liking, or enjoy the views by bike!

When visiting these outdoor destinations, be sure to prepare for your walk.

Dress warmly and wear sun protection.

While it may be cold, sun exposure can still have a negative impact if not properly protected with sunblock, hats, etc. Also, be sure to check local guidelines for Covid restrictions, as rules may vary by location.

While residents anticipate the warmer weather of spring, the local landmarks can be enjoyed in all seasons. Visiting local paths is a great way to get outside safely while taking in the beautiful surrounding features of the South Coast.

These paths, along with many others, are available for viewing at savebuzzardsbay. org/things-to-do/hiking-walking/.

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PRIME LIVING

Vaccination

FAQs

The year 2020 was the deadliest in American history.

At the terrifying peak of the pandemic, people over 60 Eliz abeth years old represented 80% Morse Read of total COVID-19 deaths, wiping out almost an entire generation of beloved elders, mentors, and cultural icons.

Life as we knew it came to a screeching halt.

Miraculously, just one year after the world went into lockdown, US COVID-related hospitalization and death rates started dropping, vaccination rates went into overdrive, and public health and government officials started offering concrete messages of hope for a long-suffering population.

By mid-March, one hundred million vaccinations had been administered, with the promise that all Americans over 16 years old who want a vaccination will be able to get one by the end of May – and by April 19 here on the South Coast.

But these life-saving vaccines will be in a race against new variant strains of the virus, vaccine hesitancy within certain US populations, and public health safeguards like mask-wearing being dropped prematurely in certain parts of the country. The elusive goal of herd immunity will slip farther away again if we are faced with another surge of infections. We must keep our eyes on the prize of herd immunity until the virus is defeated.

Mother-and-child reunions Long-separated families and friends now have a glimpse of what life will be like post-pandemic. In early March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced its first guidelines for Americans who were fully vaccinated – the first time we were advised on what we could do, instead of what we could not do, as has been the case since the pandemic swept across the globe. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their last vaccination – for example, after the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

This is cause for relief for long-separated families and others

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suffering from a year of pandemic isolation. Vaccinated older adults can now visit indoors and unmasked with their unvaccinated adult children and grandchildren under certain circumstances, and vaccinated friends can now enjoy maskless indoor dinners with each other. But best of all, seeing as more than 70% of nursing home residents have now been vaccinated, they can now receive visitors, after a long year of isolation and loneliness.

Vaccinated older adults can now visit indoors and unmasked with their unvaccinated adult children and grandchildren under certain circumstances So why shouldn’t we fly?

At first, the CDC did not ease up on air travel restrictions, which seemed to throw a wet blanket on plans for long-distance family reunions. But there was good reason for the initial hesitancy – the announcement was made on the cusp of Spring Break, when rowdy (and maskless) college partiers crowd southern beaches and fuel super-spreader infection outbreaks when they fly back to campuses across the country. Additionally, the new variant viruses from the UK, South Africa and Brazil, which are much more contagious and potentially more lethal, had become more detectable across the US. The CDC projects that by the end of April, the highlycontagious UK variant of the virus will become the predominant strain in the United States. That’s why it’s imperative to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, to avoid another

surge of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths triggered by irresponsible behaviors and anti-vaccine misinformation.

Not wanting to possibly ignite a new surge in COVID-19 infection rates by encouraging excited grandparents to hop on the next flight to visit grandchildren cross-country, the CDC said that as vaccination rates continue to rise and hospitalizations and death rates continue to drop, they will be offering more relaxed guidance on both domestic and international air travel. So, start local and get comfortable with being maskless indoors with family and friends again.

So far, most states will allow vaccinated people to cross state lines without testing or quarantining.

What you can do again –

Immunity Passports?

Already, a potential civil liberties conflict is brewing – will governments, employers, schools, merchants, entertainment venues, or entire industries have the right to insist you show proof of vaccination before you can enter their premises? There are no hard and fast answers yet, but here’s what we know so far.

When you get your first shot (whether of a one-dose or a two-dose vaccine), you’ll be given a dated CDC wallet card that records the specific vaccine you’ve received and a reminder (if needed) of when to get your second shot. It is not an official government document, but, like wearing a mask or having your temperature taken at the door, it may gain you entry to some establishments until herd immunity is definitely reached.

Walmart pharmacies may soon provide health passport apps for people’s smartphones verifying that the customer received their vaccination, which might make it easier for them in the future to board a plane, take a cruise, or enter a sports stadium.

Personal immunity “passports” will be created in the future when the CDC is far more certain about how well COVID-19 vaccines work, how long immunity lasts, etc., and would be used primarily to allow someone to travel internationally. It could take the form of a physical card, a mobile app, a QR code or a sticker on a passport.

It’s already standard practice for American travelers to provide proof of immunization against specific diseases (e.g., polio) before entering countries where outbreaks are active. Already, the European Union is working on “digital green certificates” that would allow residents of EU countries to travel freely within the bloc showing proof of vaccination, recent negative test result, or documented recovery from the virus.

and what to avoid Fully vaccinated people can meet indoors without wearing a mask with unvaccinated people who are at low risk of becoming infected, such as your work-at-home daughter and her children who are being schooled remotely. Fully vaccinated people no longer need to quarantine or get tested immediately if they are exposed to the virus unless they develop symptoms. But they shouldn’t take their masks off when out in public, whether indoors or out, because of the slight chance that they could still become infected with a variant virus and spread it to unvaccinated people.

Fully vaccinated people should still wear a mask and keep socially distant when out in public or when visiting an unvaccinated person who’s at risk of severe illness or death if they were to become infected. This could be an elderly aunt who hasn’t yet been vaccinated or perhaps a younger cousin who’s undergoing chemotherapy. The same restriction applies when visiting an unvaccinated person who lives with a vulnerable person, or when indoors with unvaccinated people from multiple households (like at church). It’s better to hold such gatherings outdoors, and continue to wear masks and maintain a six-foot distance until CDC guidelines make different recommendations.

What We Don’t Know for Sure Scientists still do not know whether a fully vaccinated person could become infected with a new variant of the virus – a “breakthrough” infection – and thereby inadvertently infect unvaccinated people around them. They also are not sure exactly

how long immunity lasts after vaccination or whether a particular vaccine’s immunity lasts longer than another vaccine’s immunity.

As talk of herd immunity becomes more urgent, the “guesstimate” of how many Americans were undiagnosed/ asymptomatic carriers of the COVID-19 virus becomes more crucial. Best bets have been that at least 10% of the US population had been infected but never knew it. Yet, recent data from the Red Cross indicates that one in five blood donations – 20% – contains tell-tale antigens for COVID19. Also, scientists still don‘t know how strong the immune response is for people who were previously infected, nor are they sure how long this less-than-robust immunity lasts, which is why survivors are advised to still get vaccinated after they’ve recovered.

So, what happens next?

The Biden administration aims to produce and ship enough doses of COVID-19 vaccines by early May for every American adult to be fully vaccinated, but we need to remain vigilant until we approach herd immunity, when 70-85% of all Americans are immune to the virus, whether by vaccination or previous infection. Only then will we be able to start living a more “normal” life than we have for the past year. Anyone over 16 years of age in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island will be eligible for the vaccinations starting on April 19 – and clinical trials have already started for children from infancy to age 15.

In the meantime, community, health, business, and faith leaders must do what they can to help overcome vaccine hesitancy, encouraging their followers, colleagues, and neighbors to do their part for the greater good as well as for themselves – get vaccinated. The sooner we reach herd immunity, the sooner children will be able to go back to school full time, parents will be able to go back to work, local businesses will be able to reopen fully and the national economy will be able to recover.

Elizabeth Morse Read is an award-winning writer, editor and artist who grew up on the South Coast. After 20 years of working in New York City and traveling the world, she came back home with her children and lives in Fairhaven.

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GOOD TIMES

view from one of the

Mt. Hope Bay condos

Buying and selling

in a one-sided market

Eliz abeth Schultz

You can make big profits on the sale of your home right now thanks to a lack of housing inventory and a backlog of buyers just waiting in line to buy your home. We are seeing an influx of buyers coming in from other states and cities looking to move to the suburbs.

But if you’re looking to trade up or There are just too many strong buyers out downsize once you sell, the same thing there with nothing to sell. that will have made it so easy for you to If you have the luxury to temporarily have sold your home will make it difficult stay with a relative or friend after your for you to find your next one: a lack of sale while looking for a home that is also inventory. Your best bet right now, if posa great option. sible, is to sell your home and capitalize There are many ways to get to where you on the market as it stands today and rent want to be. It is important to hire an expeuntil you can purchase your next home. rienced Realtor® who can navigate you This puts you in a much better bargaining through all the twists and turns of selling position to win a bid in a market that is and buying. And, most importantly, to putting all buyers in stiff make sure you and your competition resulting in interests are protected ellers bidding wars. along the way. our best bet A good way to protect Buyers: yourself is to have the know by now it is capitalize on isYou sale of your home “suba very tough market ject to suitable housing.” the market as it with limited inventory In today’s market you and fierce bidding will find a buyer who wars. I am sure you stands today and will be willing to wait for have heard the very you to find a home, but rent until you first thing an agent again, it may be hard to ask you is if you are compete against a buyer can purchase preapproved. We do not who has nothing to sell. to waste your time your next home want Therefore, you should or anyone else’s! Before not be looking at homes you can say, “I like this until you have your home on the market house” it is gone! You must be prepared or buyer in place before you think about in this market by being fully preapproved. putting a bid on another home, unless It is the most important first step before you can purchase without selling first. you begin your search.

Y

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What does fully preapproved mean? This means providing a bank or mortgage company with all documents requested.

For example, W2’s, tax returns, pay stubs, and bank account statements. This up-front work will save you tears and heartache in the future if your deal falls apart, which no one want to have happen.

Buyers: Get fully pre-approved before you start shopping Once you are fully preapproved, it’s time to go shopping. Find an experienced Realtor® to help you. They are experts on current market conditions, they know what pitfalls to watch out for and they can advise you on the best way to approach an offer on a home. In short, they have your back and can also connect you to trusted partners if needed, such as mortgage brokers, real estate attorneys, inspectors, insurance agents, and more. A good Realtor® will educate you in the process so there are no surprises along the way.

Be patient. This market is tough for buyers. You will lose out on several homes but don’t give up! Your house is out there, and I am a believer everything happens for a reason and you will end up where you should be. It will be a wild ride in real estate this year so buckle up! I promise it will be worth it in the end!

Happy spring house hunting!

E lizabeth S chultz is a real estate broker and owner of Avenue 5 Real Estate located in Tiverton, RI and is licensed in both RI and MA, as well as a member of the National Association of Realtors. She can be reached at lizschultz220@gmail.com.

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Finding a community

Sean McCarthy

For seniors and their loved ones, the decision to relocate to an assisted living community can be stressful and worrisome. But the people at The Arbors at Taunton are skilled in making the transition smooth and easy – they’ve been doing it for more than 21 years.

“Many people are moving in with us after they have lived in their own home for 40 or 50 years,” says executive director Nellie Vieira.

“There can be a fear of change – going

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somewhere new, not knowing people and not knowing the routine. There can also be a feeling of grief at the anticipation of leaving their own home and what is familiar and comfortable. Often seniors

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are lonely and will benefit from being with other seniors in similar circumstances. As we age, we often need more assistance than our loved ones are able to

The Arbors has 78 apartments for residents, and couples are welcome

provide in this ever-changing world we all live in.

The Arbors has 78 apartments for residents, and couples are welcome. The facility has a staff of 60 people and is monitored 24 hours a day. A person must be at least 62 to become a resident, while the average age is mid-to-late 80’s.

To ensure a great quality of life, we offer as much socialization as people would like “We give them love and attention, and acclimate them to their new setting and surroundings,” Vieira says. “Oftentimes we’ll pair a new resident with someone who has been here for a long time, like a buddy system, someone who has similar interests. The residents are very welcoming.”

Each resident at the Arbors has their own personal apartment that they can furnish to their liking The most important focus of the Arbors is socialization.

“They’re not sitting at home alone watching tv every day and wait for their loved ones to visit,” Vieira says. “The socialization that someone gets here and being with other people like them keeps them cognitively going. To ensure a great quality of life, we offer as much socialization as people want to participate in.”

Each resident at the Arbors has their own personal apartment that they furnish to their liking. They can move in their own bed, furniture and various décor to create a comfortable and familiar environment.

Each apartment includes a kitchenette

with a full-size refrigerator and microwave, a living area, a spacious closet, and full bathroom facilities.

“People can bring in anything they like, depending on their personal choice,” Vieira says. “From bureaus, nightstands and chairs, portraits, paintings, and family photos.”

A quality dining experience is a priority at the Arbors. Residents can enjoy three health-conscious, homemade meals a day, prepared by a chef, approved by a dietician, and served in a restaurant-like setting or in a private dining room with guests. Meals can be personalized to meet health requirements.

The Arbors also provides residents the opportunity to go on weekly shopping trips to area grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, and the post office, as well as regular outings to various sights and events such as summer picnics at parks or fall foliage drives.

The Arbors also offers religious services to its residents.

The Arbors makes available a variety of living options, including, assisted living and memory care. Each resident has his or her own service plan tailored to their

own personal care needs and preferences.

They also offer a 30-day trial stay and a 10 percent discount for life for veterans.

A quality dining experience is a priority at the Arbors The Arbors organization is family owned and operated, it began 24 years ago by a brother and sister with a facility in Amherst, MA. Today they have 10 locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the next generation of family runs the business.

For more information go online to arborsassistedliving.com or call the Taunton location at (508) 824-4800.

Sean McCarthy has been a freelance journalist for 27 years. He lives in New Bedford.

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Golfing around the South Coast on public courses won’t be exactly the same as last year, and it definitely won’t be the same as two years ago, before the era of COVID-19 restrictions changed everything.

This year at the Whaling City Golf Course at 581 Hathaway Road in New Bedford, “Conditions are as good or better than last year,” director Sue Carlson said.

But last year was not its best year. The 6780-yard 18-hole Donald Ross Championship golf course closed from April until mid-May because of the COVID-19 shutdowns. Whaling City did not open the bar side of the lounge facility, only the restaurant.

This year, the golf course offers better news. The restaurant and the clubhouse will be opening sometime this spring.

The COVID safety protocols instituted in May remain in place as the course prepares to open up the parts that are still closed.

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S wansea Country Club

“We are reopening slowly as we work with the precautions in place,” Carlson said. “We are still requiring masks. We’ve opened the pro shop but are still taking precautions.”

“We have made this place the gem of New Bedford - we have improved the fairway, the greens, the irrigation.”

This year, protective partitions are being placed in each golf cart upon the golfer’s request, and everything is being sanitized between uses, even more than before.

Meanwhile, membership is neither dipping too low nor climbing too high. It has stayed about the same as last year’s.

“It’s still around 65 members. There have been losses and gains,” Carlson said.

“Someone goes and another person joins.

The membership has balanced itself out.”

She doesn’t even expect the current highprofile plans for the golf course’s future reconfiguration to change the Whaling City Golf Course’s operations any time soon. The New Bedford Economic Development Council’s current proposal to re-develop a portion of the golf course for a new commercial development may have deterred some golfers from becoming members, Carlson admitted. But she is confident that the development plan won’t see its first shovel in the ground until after this spring.

While it’s noteworthy that the current plan includes the “preference” to preserve the 18-hole course and construct a new clubhouse and parking area, potential patrons should not hesitate to become a member now. She has confidence Whaling City’s improvements of the course should attract golfers for years to come and that the Council will keep the course informed all the way through the planning process.

“We have been here three years,” Carlson said of her current management of the course. “We have made this place the gem of New Bedford. In three years, we have improved the fairway, the greens, the irrigation. We have all the confidence in the city that it will keep us informed.

It’s kept us in the loop and will continue to do so. We will still be here.”

Finding fresh air At the other end of the South Coast sits the Swansea Country Club, a championship par-72 course at 299 Market Street.

Its general manager, Robb Martin, has a different perspective on what 2020 did to his industry. He believes the era of COVID-19 helped boost public participation in golf.

Membership has seen a resurgence, Martin said, bigger than he’s ever seen in his career as a manager of golf courses.

“The biggest boom since Tiger Woods caused the last boom,” he said Both booms, he explained, attracted younger people to the game. Now,

because of COVID-era restrictions on socially-compact forms of recreation, people trying to do something social yet safe have found playing the sociallydistancing game of golf is the way to do that.

“In Swansea, 2020 was a hit once we reopened in June.

2021 is the same but on steroids”

“In Swansea, 2020 was a hit once we reopened in June, after the March shut-down,” he said. “2021 is the same but on steroids.”

Approximately 57,000 people visited the Swansea courses last year, he said. This year, tee times get booked up for an entire day quickly. On one recent Saturday when the temperature was 42 degrees and wind gusts were high, the course hosted a high of 222 rounds of golf. “And we expect that trend to continue for the entire year,” he said.

The Swansea Country Club actually boasts two courses, a Par-3 course and a Championship-size course.

Martin said he wishes he could build a third course. But he’s content to host the size he has now, even with the increased precautions that must be taken. Everything is sanitized between uses. Partitions are available for two-passenger golf carts.

The clubhouse is open, but the grill room, which features a lot of outdoor seating, won’t open until April.

There was always daily cleaning everywhere at the Swansea Country Club, Martin said, “but this year we are taking it to new heights. That describes our attendance too.”

Visit whalingcitygolfcourse.com for more information on the Whaling City Golf Course. To contact the Swansea Country Club, go to swanseacountryclub.com.

M ichael J. D e C icco has worked as a writer for over 30 years. He is also the author of two award-winning young adult novels, Kaurlin’s Disciples and The Kid Mobster. He lives with his wife Cynthia in New Bedford.

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forward

Ron Fortier

There were high hopes that the 2020 ArtWeek agenda was going to make for yet another record-breaking season. But last year, the pandemic forced the regular event to be cancelled.

The Boch Center, producers of ArtWeek, had to find ways to adapt and recover. The Boch Center is a nonprofit organization which, according to their website, is “an innovator and guardian of iconic venues, providing relevant and inclusive performing arts entertainment and cultural educational experiences for the most diverse audiences possible.” Largely supported by the Boch Family, it is under the leadership of Ernie Boch Jr. Locally, the Artweek agenda had been incorporated into the slated calendar of events.

If there is a silver lining to the global pandemic, it is that

the creative community of the South Coast has lived up to its reputation and found a way to quell the uncertainty, the upheaval, and the dashed hopes of creative collaborators.

Enter SouthCoast Spring Arts, a coalition of “more than two dozen local arts organizations that are launching an innovative celebration of the arts across the South Coast region in May 2021.”

The SouthCoast Spring Arts agenda will feature a 10-day festival that focuses on and celebrates the arts in partner communities from Fall River to Wareham.

These communities are featuring agendas that connect a wide range of “innovative, creative, and affordable art and cultural events.” Among the more than two dozen local arts organizations that are planning to launch their celebration of the arts is We Love Fall River!

According to the organizers, “We Love Fall River is a social

in-person, that were created

by AHA! New Bedford and the Fall River Fabric Arts Festival, which had both found ways to present virtually. Coming together as SouthCoast Spring Arts, the newly formed, grassroots organization has planned quite an array of both in person and virtual events scheduled from May 7 to May 16.

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“People need art and this spring, we’re going to give it to them!”

Short-Term Rehab movement, showcasing positive stories about economic development, community initiatives, and arts and culture.” Patti Rego, founder and chief content curator says, “People need art and this spring, we’re going to give it to them!”

Another collaborating organization, the Marion Art Center (also referred to as the MAC), “found us having to shelve our creative ArtWeek events – from line dancing to beer tasting, acrobats and juggling to poetry slams – which had been part of the Bach Center’s ArtWeek last spring.”

When it was announced that the Boch Center would be evaluating its programming in 2021, the MAC’s executive director and board wondered how they could recalibrate and move forward to evoke the spirit of ArtWeek. The MAC invited many individuals and organizations in the South Coast art world to jump on board and to consider the flexibility needed to respond to whatever the state guidelines would be in May of 2021.

The organizations found inspiration in the hybrid events, both virtual and

SouthCoast Spring Arts is a ten-day event festival that will kick off the 2021 art season and features plein air painting, a living history architecture walking tour, a walking book club, outdoor concerts, and an in person/virtual exhibit on Art as Fashion/Fashion as Art. Jodi Stevens, executive director of the Marion Art Center, “hopes that the spring festival will lead people to feel excited after being in hibernation for so long and allow people to press the reset button to spring forward.”

Lee Heald, AHA!’s director, says, “Institutions from Fall River to Onset along the South Coast have been planning public programs and exhibitions to celebrate the ways in which creativity connects us all. Art lovers of all ages are invited.” Find the events available near you or join a virtual event wherever you are by visiting southcoastspringarts.org.

Ron Fortier is an international artist who emigrated to the Silver Coast of mainland Portugal where he lived, painted, and exhibited.

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17

PRIME LIVING

Transformative

tele vision Stacie Charbonneau Hess

I have never been much of a TV person. I watched Breaking Bad, like the rest of the world, and Downton Abbey. I have never seen Game of Thrones or Keeping up with the Kardashians. In general I am a restless person, so if I am going to spend time sitting and consuming, it better be on something super-engaging or educational in some way. I’m looking for a show that transports me or enlightens me. Think Ken Burns documentaries or French cinema… to some of you that may sound like torture, but to each her own, right?

This year, having oodles more downtime with my schedule stripped of commuting and shuffling my family around, I have found some amazing and uplifting educational television. I can travel without leaving my house with Rick Steves and HGTV. I can cry as “football” coach Jason Sudeikis and his cast produce touching, funny 30 minute episodes on Ted Lasso. I have found social justice documentaries that I can work into my syllabus at BCC. Since I miss traveling, I like to find shows that give me a glimpse of a new culture.

My 12-year-old introduced me to Gordon Ramsay’s Uncharted series,

by National Geographic. We’ve been watching it together, a reward after our daily work is done. We sit enraptured as the intrepid chef scuba dives for scallops in wintery Norway, rides a bull across a giant mud puddle, and treks to a remote hut to learn about medicinal plants.

Ramsay is sarcastically entertaining, and the show is replete with “beeps” to censor his swearing, but his visits are enthralling and culturally sensitive. The premise of the program is that Ramsay shows up

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in far-flung places on the globe, spends one week, befriends citizens with local knowledge and prestige – an indigenous leader or a governor of a small country – and goes head to head with a local chef to prepare a dinner at the week’s end, judged by the dinner guests.

The meal preparation – on a makeshift stove on a mountain-top, for example – is always creative, exciting, and fun to watch. It’s Ramsay’s bold enthusiasm, however, that hooks Charlotte and me.

Well, that, coupled with the aerial shots of Peru, Hawaii, Scandinavia, Indonesia – places we really want to learn about.

Other times, if I am feeling really restless and winter-laden, I go to my Apple TV and select the show House Hunters International. Here, American citizens, and

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not always of extraordinary means, hunt for homes in places like Australia, France, even Japan. I especially love the island edition of this show, where northeastern expats look for an escape in the Carribean or Hawaii. This show, like Ramsey’s, has a comforting routine as well: a local realtor shows the buyers three houses and before the show is over they choose the one they like best, or the one that fits their budget best. I love to dream about retiring in a sunny location, and this show helps me believe my dreams are possible. Cayman Islands here I come!

Catching my breath Another thing I could not do without my television screen (well, actually my laptop) is Zoom. Without Zoom, I would

I love to dream about retiring in a sunny location, and this show helps me believe my dreams are possible.

have missed out on a transformative opportunity I found in 2020: guided Breath practice. I found that this meditative practice is very good at curbing my restless mind, allowing me to travel “inside” instead of grasping outside of myself for distraction.

As a self-care gift, I signed up for a 90 day Pranayama certification course last fall. An old yogi friend of mine, Tom Gillette, has been teaching for thirty years and practicing yoga forever.

Tom is the real deal: he is involved in studies with doctors at both Butler Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital to “quantify and validate” just how and why breathing practices affect our health and well-being.

Tom has created the course based on his own yogic education in the ashrams and as a resident of Kripalu back in the day. It’s called This Next Breath. When I met Tom in the early 2000s, he was running a hardcore vinyasa studio in downtown Providence. The room was a sanctuary, with full classes and a heated room where we could get a good stretch and sweat away toxins.

I always left his classes feeling utterly transformed. What kept me coming back, however, was not the physical yoga-asana (poses) stuff but his extensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology. His breath course works much in the same way: data driven, science-focused, requiring a commitment to consistency.

As he’s now in his sixties and has suffered his share of injuries, Tom’s style has morphed into a more inward-focused practice. His teaching style is accessible to all ages. In November of 2018, I brought my husband, who has always had sinus issues, to one of his breath workshops.

Mark took what he learned in that workshop and continues to apply the simple breathing practices regularly. He has not had a single sinus infection since.

We knew we were on to something, so I wanted to dig a little deeper. I signed up for the certification, which cost less than $500 for a lifetime’s worth of practice material.

To supplement my certification, each morning I can muster myself out of bed on time, I participate in Tom’s free “Thought for the day” at six o’clock. It’s open to anyone at all with an interest in a breath practice, or anyone who wants to start the day on a positive note. In these mini-classes, Tom leads a 15-20 minute pranayama practice and finishes each session with inspiring quotes from spiritual leaders, from Rumi to Jack Kornfield.

He has taught every day since Covid hit – over 300 days in a row now.

Focusing on the breath day after day, for small moments or more sustained ones, eases my anxiety. I became less restless. Some mornings, in meditation, it felt like going on a journey: away from my pets who say “feed me,” away from my job, and other identifiers and labels that I have given myself over the past 48 years.

Each time you focus on the breath, says Eckhart Tolle, you are meditating. When I am practicing pranayama regularly, I am more creative and less reactive, away from the “10,000 things”. It’s more spacious in that place, when the breath slows and the senses are attuned to the more eternal nature of our being. It is, I am convinced, a way to travel in our everyday life, because it adds a sense of wonder, excitement, and enthusiasm to our days.

While I am still a believer that encounters in real life will never be replaced by television, I no longer believe that it’s a waste of time. There are artful, educational, informative, and moving experiences out there, and sometimes it feels so good to turn up the heat, grab a blanket, cuddle close with the ones I love, and allow myself to indulge in a little escape… whether on my yoga mat or sofa!

When I am practicing pranayama regularly, I am more creative and less reactive, away from the “10,000 things”

S tacie C harbonneau H ess is a mother, a graduate student, and a freelance writer based in New Bedford, Massachsuetts, where she lives with her husband, three children, and too many pets to mention!

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GOOD TIMES

Lessons from Miss Millie I had the good fortune to be in Fort Wayne, Indiana on a film shoot recently. I know what you’re thinking, because I did: Fort Wayne? That hotbed of cornfield Paul K andarian excitement? The Big Apple of the Midwest? A place routinely listed on the country’s most boring cities lists? That Fort Wayne?

Yes, that Fort Wayne. It is that flat and boring but honestly, I love going to places I’ve never seen before and meeting people I’ve never met. It’s what makes life go ‘round. Well, mine anyway and it’s the only one I’m living right now, so I’ll go with it.

But really, travel truly is the best education. People get locked into the areas where they’re from, of course, many due to circumstances out of their control, allowing them to go only as far as they can go. But if you can travel, it allows you to come from an area and a lifestyle to which you are accustomed and cannot imagine living any other way, into another area with people living a lifestyle to which they are accustomed and cannot imagine living any other way. And that joy of discovery, of connection, of learning what it’s like outside your bubble, is the best education in humanity you can get.

One day, I was driving down Fairview Avenue in Fort Wayne, a main drag that leads into the heart of the city, a lovely boulevard with sidewalk separated from street by a wide grassy swath. I was taken by the architecture; virtually all the homes had house-wide front porches, many of them of the brick-front variety. Not sure if that’s a Midwestern thing but a wee bit of expert research (Google, the Library of Alexandria of our time) revealed they appear to be of American Foursquare design, or “Prairie Box,” a post-Victorian style sharing many features with the Prairie architecture pioneered by the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright.

They were popular from the mid-1890s to the 1930s, popping up in rail towns

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such as Fort Wayne, and mass produced to be bought through places like Sears, designed to fit on narrow lots. Many are just lovely, well-kept treasures of generations of families, I suspect. Others in more run-down areas of the city are not, but in the midst of a street of decay you find one restored, painted bright, which is jarring but comforting all at once. A coat of paint is a coat of hope, I reckon. And why not?

Sometimes hope is built in layers, not all at once.

I see houses like this, as I told a fellow actor outside one day, I think of the homes seen in Silence of the Lambs, and joke that in one of these is a gruesomely scary basement like Jamie Gumm’s from that movie.

I chatted up the little old lady, telling her that indeed the young women’s clothing was stunning, which she turned to proudly tell the smiling girls I later felt bad about that dumb stereotype because I have always found Midwesterners to be the nicest people in America’s cultural and socioeconomic cross-cut.

An outing later in Kroeger’s, a quintessentially Midwestern grocery chain, proved me right again.

I walked up one aisle, turned a corner and in the middle of the next were three or four beautiful young Black girls dressed in the most colorful clothing of wherever they were from, head to toe. They were tall, elegant, speaking in heavily accented English, and in the middle of them was a tiny little old white lady, 80s perhaps, maybe 90, telling them how beautiful they were, how gorgeous their clothing was.

They smiled and responded in the best English they can.

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All I could think was these were perhaps refugees from another country, one engulfed in strife and poverty, now in this one to make a better life and sticking out like colorful thumbs in the country’s midsection. And here was this beautiful little old white lady doing her best to make them feel welcome.

I smiled, walked away and got into line.

And a minute later, this sweet old lady came in behind me, and behind her those gorgeous girls in their beautiful cultural garb. I chatted up the little old lady, telling her that indeed the young women’s clothing was stunning, which she turned to proudly tell the smiling girls.

“That’s our Miss Millie,” the cashier said to me. “She’s in here every day. She’s just sweet.”

And Miss Mille, all of five foot nothing with a pushed-up shock of gray/white hair, told me about her life working 40 years in one place, 15 in another before Covid shut it down, encapsulating a proud part of what I imagine was a wonderful life in a brief check-out line encounter I wished would not end.

“Millie,” I said truthfully, “you remind me of my Mom, she looked like you, had hair like yours, and she was sweet. Just like you…”

“Ah, forget Covid,” Millie laughed, her short arms reaching for my shoulders, “that’s gonna get you a hug.”

And we hugged in the middle of a checkout line in the middle of a state in a middle of a country that could use more hugs, more sweetness, more acceptance, more humanity. More Miss Millies.

This was truly a great trip, doing what I love to do, acting in a remarkable movie based on a true story of resolve, faith and love, made by and with some truly remarkable people.

But that hug from Millie just might have been the highlight of the entire experience.

In fact, I know it was.

Paul K andarian is a lifelong area resident and, since 1982, has been a profession writer, columnist, and contributor in national magazines, websites, and other publications.

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